NAADP-mediated calcium release promotes angiopoietin 2 secretion by regulating Rab46-dependent Weibel-Palade body trafficking

Angiopoietin2 (Ang2), a regulator of angiogenesis, is stored with other pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic mediators, in endothelial-specific vesicles called Weibel-Palade bodies (WPBs). Acute stimulation of endothelial cells with histamine, delays Ang2 secretion by activating Rab46-specific trafficking of Ang2-containing WPBs to the microtubule organising centre (MTOC), where they persist until Ca²⁺ binds to the EF-hand of Rab46, enabling detachment. Here, using Ca²⁺ imaging and high-resolution light microscopy, we pharmacologically investigated the contribution of endolysosomal two-pore channel proteins (TPC) to the Ca²⁺ signal necessary for WPB detachment and Ang2 secretion. We show an increase in the histamine-evoked clustering of Rab46 (and thus WPBs) at the MTOC in the presence of TPC inhibitors Ned-19 and tetrandrine, and a decrease in the presence of a TPC2 agonist, TPC2-A1-N. Histamine-evoked secretion of Ang2 was decreased by pharmacological inhibition of TPC channels but potentiated in the presence of TPC2-A1-N. These data suggest that histamine-mediated Ca²⁺ release via TPC2 channels is necessary for the Rab46-dependent detachment of Ang2-positive WPBs from the MTOC and thus Ang2 secretion. SUMMARY: Ca²⁺ binding to the EF-hand of Rab46 in endothelial cells has previously been reported but the molecular mechanisms and functional relevance are unclear. Here, the authors show that Ca²⁺ released from TPC channels regulates the detachment of Rab46-positive WPBs from the MTOC, which thereby promotes secretion of Ang2.